Closure



April 20, 1943 A. H.'WESTBERG 1 2,316,923

7 CLOSURE Filed Fb. 12, 1940 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 A. HAROLD WESTBERG INVENTOR BY WATTORNEY April 1943. A. H. WESTBERG 2,316,923

CLOSURE Filed Feb. 12, 1940 2 Sheets-Shae; 2

FIG. 4

.A.IIAROI D WESTBERG INVENTOR BY I M ATTORNEY Patented Apr. 20, 1943 CLOSURE Arthur Harold Westberg, Hempstead, N. Y., as-

signor to Republic Aviation Corporation,

Farmingdale, N. Y.

Application February 12, 1940, Serial No. 318,445

3 Claims.

This invention relates to closures, particularly closures for fuel tanks of airplanes and especially for tanks carried in airfoils.

Such tanks usually have a male-type filler neck which projects upwardly somewhat through and beyond the upper cambered surface of the wing, break up the air flow, and cause appreciable turbulence and buffeting in a critical region of the wing. Some constructions have obviated this projection into the critical air-flow, by employing countersunk, female-type filler necks projecting down into the interior of the airfoil, with an adapter bushing concentrically arranged inside the neck, attached to same at the lower end, and carrying an ordinary screw cap on its other end.

This type of cap, though in some rare instances more nearly approaching flushness with the upper surface of the airfoil, nonetheless, in all instances, projects appreciably into the critical boundary layer of the wine. In war times, a very short period is allowed in refueling military airplanes; under such circumstances such closures present a serious servicing problem, as the hand cannot be fully used for a rapid manipulation,

only the fingernails usually being insertable around the periphery of such caps.

It is the general objective of the present invention to provide a closure, which will obviate these difliculties and remedy these conditions.

A particular objective of this invention is to provide a closure of this improved nature which will, nonetheless, be simple yet rugged and durable in use; quick and easy to manipulate and inexpensive to manufacture.

With these and other objectives in view, the invention comprises the features, elements, combinations and structures shown in the accompanying drawings and partioularized hereinbelow, by way of example only, the invention being limited in its embodiments only by the scope of the subjoined claims.

In these drawings:

Figure 1 is a top plan view of the closure element without its complementary adapter member;

Figure 2 is a right hand side elevation of same;

Figure 3 is a vertical central section on line 3-3 of Figure 1 and Figure 4 is a fragmentary section of a wing with the invention in place.

Referring first to Figure 4 of the drawings, the structure comprises a fuel-filler assembly con sisting of a socket-member or filler neck I which may be a cylindrical casting attached in any suitable manner to the framework or skin of the wing I5. This socket-member l is suitably threaded at 2 to receive a complementarily-threaded adapter member 3 which may be a short section of cylindrical pipe having its upper end terminating well below the upper surface of the wing. The member 3 is provided with an annular protuberance 4 for seating tightly against the socket-member.

A closure member 5 is provided for closing off. fluid-tightly, the adapter member and the win tank is such a manner as to nonetheless provide a flush upper surface for the wing, which is out out in this area to receive the filler assembly, also providing for ease and rapidity of securing and removing the closure.

To this end, the closure comprises, as best seen in Figures 1-3, inclusive, a casting or a machining in the form of a hollow, cylinder flanged at its upper end and adapted to embrace fluid tightly, the upper end of the adapter. To aid in attaining the latter objective, a washer 6 of any suitable material is seated tightly in th base of the cylinder and a lock-member 1 is provided on the closure and adapted to engage complementary lock-members 8, in the form of two distinct downturned lips, each extending about on the periphery of the adapter member, and sloping oppositely as to projection into the adapter. Thus the closure maybe locked or unlocked in not more than a quarter-turn thereof, in the respective locking and unlocking directions.

In order to achieve the maximum ease and rapidity in turning the closure while maintaining absolute fiushness of the closure with the upper surface of the wing, a structure is provided, in conjunction with the flange of the closure, which comprises an elongated depression 9 across the top part of the cover 5, in which is seated a bail member, or handle, 10 mounted on a hinge-pin H for rotation into, and out of, the depression, and adapted to be grasped by the hand to turn the closure when the handle is raised.

One end of the handle is downwardly enlarged as shown at I2 and is adapted to engage a flatspring l3, which is urged downwardly when the handle is raised, thus holding the handle in its raised position and automatically returning the handle to its seat in the depression when the raising force is released, and a slight push in the opposite direction is given.

If desired, a safety chain [4 may be provided to prevent loss of the closure, to which it is attached by one end, the other end of the chain being attached to the adapter, as shown, Figure 4.

The edge of the bail I0 is bevelled at 8 opposite a spherical cut-out I! provided in the cover 5 for grasping purposes.

From the structure set forth in the foregoing description, it follows that by means of the present invention, a filler-assembly is provided which has all its members lying definitely below the upper surface of the wing, yet which is quickly and easily openable and closable by not more than a quarter-turn of the closure member itself; thus, the invention eliminates protuberances into the airflow due to the usual filler assemblies and at the same time obviates delays in servicing due to difficulty in manipulating closures constructed in ways other than as herein disclosed.

An incidental feature of the present assembly is the fact that adapters, etc., of the standard types (such as those employed by the U. S. Military Services) can be interchanged with the present structure without requiring any modification of the socket or closure.

1. A tank filler for aircraft, comprising, in combination: a substantially frusto-conical socket having, at its large end, an integral hollow-cylindrical portion fixed to the underside of the skin of an airfoil'of the aircraft around a circular cutout in this skin and, at its narrow end, an integral hollow-cylindrical portion projecting down into the interior of the airfoil, a hollow cylindrical adapter having its lower end secured to the narrow end of the socket and projecting freely within said socket up to a short distance below the airfoil skin, a flat caphaving its top surface flush with the airfoil skin, and having a hollow cylindrical projection engageable upon the free end of the adapter and having an annular, flange also flush with the airfoil skin and bridging the gap between the large end of the socket and the adapter, a raisable bail hinged to this cap and normally sunk into the upper part thereof packing means interposed between the bottom of the cap and the. top of the adapter, a resilient turnable locking fork carried under this cap and a pair of fixed ramps formed on top of this adapter so as to act in cooperation with said fork both as a quick-release bayonet joint and a tightening means of said packing means when the cap is manipulated by means of this ball.

2. In a tank filler for aircraft of the type described a flush cap or closure comprising a, circular flange also flush with the airfoil skin, a U-shaped cut-out made in said flange and across the upper part of the body of the closure, a hingepin diametrically arranged across this body and projecting on both sides thereof across this cutout, a raisable U-shaped bail, normally lying flush and snug within this cut-out and having its two ends hinged to this pin and at least one of said ends provided with two flat abutments and a curved flat spring secured at one endunder this flange having its free end pressed against either of said abutments so as to hold the bail in either raised or lowered position.

3. A cap or closure for a tank filler for aircraft of the flush type having a flush circular flange, a U-shaped cut-out made across the upper part of its bodyand throughout said flange, a hingepin diametrically arranged across its body and projecting on both sides thereof across this cutout portion of the flange, a raisable U-shaped bail, normally lying flush and snug within this cut-out and having its two ends hinged to this pin, a curved flat spring secured at one end under this flange and engaging this bail at its other end and a cut-out in said cap body adapted to permit grasping said bail, when in its sunken'position with a finger-nail, at least one of the hinged ends of the bail projecting downward and forming two flat abutments at substantially right angle between themselves, and the free end of thi spring cooperating with either of these abutments to hold the bail respectively in its sunken and raised positions.

A. HAROLD WESTBERG. 

